Day 334- A Learning First

Laura says her favorite day of the week is Sunday.  She says this is because we get to go to church twice, we get to see godly friends, enjoy good worship, and hear God's word preached (she actually said to hear her favorite pastor preach).  Today is her favorite day of the week.

Tonight, I preached on how to have an awesome family. There is a difference in an average family and an awesome family.  I want to have an awesome family.  We have a lot of areas where we need to improve as a family, but we sure do enjoy each other.  One of my points tonight about awesome families is that awesome families are growing families.  The Bible says in Luke 2:52, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

So, today I asked some people what they learned in their families growing up for my "first."  I wanted to know what some significant lessons were that people learned from their families of origin. I asked people from all different ages this question, "What is one thing that you learned from your family?"

Here are some of the answers I received.

• Work hard
• Don't argue with your Momma.
• Try new things.
• Don't lie.
• Always tell the truth. If a man will lie to you, then he will steal from you.
• Show respect to your elders.
• Immaculate table manners
• Work hard; good work ethic.
• Zip up the trampoline net before jumping.
• How to have a good sense of humor.
• Finish what you start.
• Protect your sisters.
• Be quiet and settle down.
• Jesus loves me and how to cook.
• Read the Bible
• Learn about God
• How to look up verses in the Bible.

What is something you learned in your family of origin?

There are some things that we learn from our families of origin.  These include but are not limited to things like:

• Work ethic
• How to handle feelings
• How to do relationships
• How to handle conflict
• How to handle loss
• How to relate to God

We help each other learn these things by example and by conversations.  The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:7 says about God's commandments, "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." This means that we need to have conversations about God and His word in everyday life.  There are all kinds of lessons in daily life that we can link to God's word and talk to our families about them.  Conversations about God and His word do not need to be limited to church.  That creates a kind of false idea that God is at church and then everyday life is about something else.  God is involved in all of life.

We are also to learn from each other by example. We need to see sermons as well as hear them.  My children will learn a lot about how to handle feelings, handle conflict, and how to treat people by watching Laura and me. They will hear me preach a lot of sermons in their lifetimes since I am their pastor.  They will also learn a whole lot from living with me and observing my actions. I heard someone say one time that Christianity is caught as well as taught.  I sure want my children to catch some real Jesus stuff from me instead of the flu (no, I don't have the flu; just an illustration).

Learning in the abundant life,
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Lessons I learned from my parents
2. Blake singing "Mary, Did You Know?" in church today
3. Hannah Grace showing me the Youtube video "Pillow Fight Prank"-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeS5IU4Odus